Carpet tile with cutout section, method and apparatus for production and method of installation

ABSTRACT

A carpet tile ( 11 ) and tile cutting apparatus ( 20 ) that produces a carpet tile with a removable cutout section ( 13 ) defined by discontinuous slits ( 19 ) and held in place by bridges ( 14 ). The apparatus includes a perimeter cutting assembly ( 50 ) and retractable inner cutting assembly ( 40 ). The perimeter cutting assembly is used to cut the carpet tile and the inner cutting assembly simultaneously forms the discontinuous slits in the inner portion of the carpet tile. The inner cutting assembly can be engaged or disengaged during the carpet tile cutting process. The carpet tile is installed by severing the bridges and laying the border sections ( 12 ) on the floor with dissimilar cutouts within the borders to create a visually interesting floor covering.

This application is a 371 of PCT/US00/27190 filed Oct. 3, 2000 whichclaims benefit of 60/172,477 Dec. 17, 1999.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to carpet tile and, more specifically, to carpettile with a removable cutout section, a cutter assembly formanufacturing carpet tiles with removable cutout sections and a methodfor installing carpet tiles with removable cutout sections.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Carpet tile is normally manufactured by producing a long web of tilematerial and then cutting square tiles from the web. Identical tilesinstalled side-by-side provide an attractive, but sometimesuninteresting, carpeted floor surface. As a result, enormous effort hasbeen expended to produce patterned tiles having variations in pile,color and other properties for aesthetic reasons. Dissimilar tiles havesometimes been installed in a checkerboard or other pattern, anddissimilar tiles have sometimes been cut up and then reassembled, assuggested. for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,562 for “Multiplesegment carpet tile and methods and apparatus for production of suchtile.”

Such prior efforts are either very limited in effectiveness or, as isthe case with respect to U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,562, are labor intensiveand expensive to practice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention consists of a carpet tile cutting assembly, a carpet tileand a method for installing the carpet tile. The carpet tile cuttingassembly produces carpet tiles with a discontinuous slit forming aremovable cutout section having a desired shape, such as a square. Thecutting assembly includes two sets of knives for cutting each tile andthe discontinuous slit that defines the cutout section. The cutoutsection is held in place by bridge material formed by interruptions inthe slit. The shaped cutout sections can be removed during installationby cutting the bridging material at the slit interruptions, and cutoutscan be substituted for each other or quarter or half turned in place toform a pattern in the floor covering.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a carpet tilecutting apparatus for manufacturing carpet tiles with attached butremovable cutout sections. It is a further object of this invention tocost effectively manufacture carpet tile with removable cutout sections.Another object of this invention is to manufacture carpet tiles withattached but easily removable cutout sections that are interchangeable.Still a further object is to produce a carpet tile with a removablecutout section that can be manufactured and shipped without incurringany variable costs in addition to the cost of manufacture ofconventional tiles. An additional object of this invention is to providea method for installing a carpet tile with a removable cutout section toform a patterned floor covering. A further object of this invention isto manufacture carpet tile with removable cutout sections that can beinstalled without removing the cutout section. Still further objects andadvantages will become apparent from the following description, theaccompanying drawings and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary carpet tile installation ofthis invention;

FIG. 2 is an schematic cross-section of the carpet taken along lines 2—2in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a compound cutter assembly of thisinvention;

FIG. 4A is a front elevation view of a portion of the cutter assemblyshown in FIG. 3 with the insert cutter and spring loaded foot assemblyin the raised, disengaged position; and

FIG. 4B is the front elevation view of FIG. 3 with the insert cutter andfoot assembly in the lowered, engaged position to form the cutoutsection when the tile perimeter is cut.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a layout 8 of die cut carpet tiles 10 and 11 withinterchangeable cutout sections 13 and 15 inside border sections 12 and16. Tiles 10 and 11 in layout 8 are of two types. For instance, tiles 10may have high pile, while tiles 11 have lower pile, or tile 10 and 11may be of different colors. Tiles 10 and 11 are laid in an alternatingpattern. Each tile 10 and 11 is manufactured with a central section 13and 15 defined by a cut line 19 having a generally closed form, such asa square. Gaps in the cut line 19 leave bridges 14 that attach thecutout sections 13 and 15 to the border sections 12 and 16 respectively.The interchangeable cutout centers 13 and 15 are removable from theirrespective border sections 12 and 16 by severing the bridges 14 at theinstallation site, for instance, with a utility knife. The cutoutsections 13 and 15 are removed from their respective border sections 12and 16 and swapped into another border section 16 and 12, respectively,to form a pattern. The pattern can be formed by varying many differentaspects of the tile; for example, carpet color, pile height, knap,orientation of the cutout, or any other aesthetic aspect of the overallcarpet tile.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the carpet tiles 10 and 11 withswapped or rotated cutout sections 13. Each cutout section 13 and 15 isremoved from the tiles 10 or 11 and placed in a dissimilar border 16 and12, respectively. The carpet tiles 10 and 11 can be manufactured andshipped with the cutout section secured in place by bridges 14. Duringinstallation, the installer can severe the bridges 14, with a utilityknife, remove the cutout sections 13 and 15 and swap them among thetiles 10 and 11 or simply rotate them within the tile border 12 and 16from which they came to form a pattern. Alternatively, tiles 10 and 11can be installed without removing the cutout section.

Conventional carpet tiles are typically cut from a web of tile materialwith a reciprocating knife assembly that severs a group of tiles fromthe web, is retracted so that the web can be advanced, and then seversanother group of tiles. Tiles 10 and 11 with the centrally locatedcutouts 13 and 15 of this invention can be produced by adding to theconventional knife assembly a set of knives to form the central cutouts.Such knives for the cutouts can be fixed in relation to the tileperimeter knives so that cutout cut lines 19 are always formed.Alternatively, as is illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4A and 4B, the cutoutforming knives can be retractable for selective use.

For illustrative purposes, FIG. 3 shows the tile cutting apparatusoperating on a web 60 with low pile height; however, the cuttingapparatus 20 can be used on all types of webbing. FIG. 3 shows a tilecutting apparatus 20 usable to cut carpet tiles 10 and 11 from web ofcarpet tile material 60 having a “machine direction” indicated by arrow61 in FIG. 3. The tile cutting apparatus 20 is connected to a fixed beam22 by die assembly press cylinders 24. The die assembly press cylinders24 may be air or hydraulically actuated cylinders, butelectro-mechanical or other actuators could be used to drive theassembly down to engage web 60 and up so that the web 60 can beadvanced. Thus, tile cutting apparatus 20 moves vertically relative tothe fixed beam 22 and web of tile material 60. The tile cuttingapparatus 20 includes fixed knives 55 that always engage the web 60 whencylinders 24 are actuated to cut the web of tile material into tiles 11along tile separation lines 18 (shown in FIG. 3). The schematicallyillustrated cutting apparatus 20 includes retractable inner cuttingassembly 40 that make cut lines 19. Each retractable inner cuttingassembly 40 includes knives 45 and foot assemblies 46 that can createthe cutout section 13 at the same time tile 11 is cut out by the fixedknives 55. The retractable inner cutting assembly 40 can be actuated byan air cylinder 27 or by other means including manual movement betweenoperational and retracted positions.

Unlike the outer cutting assembly 50, the inner cutting assembly 40moves in relation to the carpet tile cutting apparatus 20 and the outercutting assembly 50. This upward and downward movement allows the innercutting assembly 40 to be moved between engaged and disengagedpositions. This is advantageous because carpet tile 11 can bemanufactured with or without an attached cutout section 13 dependingupon the position of the inner cutting assembly 40.

Alternatively, knives 45 can be fixed relative to knives 55 so that cutlines 19 are always formed at the same time that tile 11 is cut from web60. In order to manufacture the carpet tile 11, a web of tile material60 is fed under the tile cutting apparatus 20. Once the web 60 is inposition, the tile cutting apparatus 20 moves downward engaging the web60. If the inner cutting assembly 40 is in the lower, operativeposition, it too will engage the web 60 creating a discontinuous cutline 19 defining the cutout section 13 and bridges 14. If the innercutting assembly 40 is in the raised disengaged position, a conventionalcarpet tile 11 will be formed without a cutout section 13.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a single cutting assembly 30 with an outer cuttingassembly 50 and an inner cutting assembly 40 disengaged and engaged,respectively. The inner cutting assembly 40 includes multiple blades 45mounted to a die plate 44. The knives 45 attach to a foot 43 on the endof arm 41 attached to cylinder 27 that moves knives 45 down to engagethe web 60, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, or up, disengaged, as shown inFIG. 4A. A foot plate 46 mounted to the die plate 44 by rods 48 andsprings 47 applies pressure on the web 60 as knives 45 cut the web 60 tofacilitate a clean, accurately positioned cut. Gaps 42 in blades 45leave bridges 14 in cutlines 19.

The outer cutting assembly 50 include blades 55 that are attached to aperimeter die plate 54 in an arrangement that forms the perimeter of thecarpet tile 11. The foot plates 51 mounted on rods 53 are forced againstweb 60 by springs 56 to exert pressure on the web 60 as the blades 55cut the carpet tile 11 to facilitate a clean, accurately positioned cut.The perimeter die plate 54 is attached to stanchions 52. The stanchions52 are connected to the transverse perimeter die frames 28 (FIG. 1). Thestanchions 52 secure the perimeter die 50 to the tile cutting apparatus20.

Since the carpet tiles 10 and 11 can be manufactured with attachedcutout sections 13 and 15 in the same operation that cuts tiles 10 and11 out of web 60, manufacture of carpet tiles 10 and 11 with cutouts 13and 15 incurs no additional expense apart from the equipment expense,and require no additional manufacturing steps or time and no additionalhandling, since the cutouts remain attached. Since the carpet tiles 10and 11 can be manufactured and shipped with the attached cutout sections13 and 15, installation flexibility is available. During installation,an installer can lay the carpet tile 10 or 11 as shipped or he canremove the cutout sections 13 and 15, for instance, with a utility knifeor other cutter by severing the bridges 14. Once the cutout section 13is removed, the installer can swap or rotate the cutout sections 13 and15 among the installed border sections 12 and 16 to create a pattern.Many aesthetic features can be used to form the pattern in the carpettile layout 8 (FIG. 1). For example, the cutout sections 13 and 15 canbe formed in many shapes, including circles, squares, triangles and aninfinite variety of other shapes. In addition, the pile height and knapcan be varied to create a textural pattern. Furthermore, carpet colorcan be varied to form a color pattern. Any combination of the aboveexamples or other attributes of carpet tile can be combined to form amulti-colored, multi-shaped textural pattern.

The forgoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, anddescribing embodiments of the present invention that provides techniquesand devices for the manufacture of carpet tiles with removable cutoutsections and methods for installing these tiles to create a pattern.Modifications and adaptations to these embodiments will be apparent tothose skilled in the art and may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims

1. A carpet tile having a slit defining a cutout section having a shape,wherein the cutout shape is removable from the carpet tile to form anopening having the shape in the carpet tile and wherein the tile isadapted to have the cutout shape removed or rotated at an installationsite.
 2. The carpet tile of claim 1, wherein the shape is a square.
 3. Acarpet tile having a slit defining a cutout section having a shape,wherein the cutout shape is removable from the carpet tile to form anopening having the shape in the carpet tile, wherein the slit isdiscontinuous, leaving at least one connection between the cutoutsection and another portion of the tile.
 4. A method for installingcarpet tile on a floor at an installation site, comprising: providing atleast first and second carpet tiles, each of which comprises a cutoutsection and a border section; removing the cutout section from the firsttile; removing the cutout section from the second tile; positioning aborder section of the first tile on the floor with the second tilecutout section within the first border; and positioning the bordersection of the second tile on the floor with the first tile cutoutsection within the second border.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein thefirst and second carpet tiles each are manufactured and transported tothe installation site with a discontinuous slit separating the cutoutsection from the border section of each tile and leaving at least onebridge connecting the cutout section to the border section, and furthercomprising severing the bridges before removing the cutout section ofeach tile from the border of that tile.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein each file has four bridges.
 7. The method of claim 5, whereinthe shape of each cutout section is square.
 8. A carpet installation,comprising: a plurality of at least two types of carpet tile borderspositioned on a floor; and at least two types of carpet tile cutoutshapes positioned on the floor within the borders so that each cutoutshape is of a different type of carpet tile from the border within whichit is positioned.
 9. A carpet tile installation, comprising: positionedon a floor, a plurality of similar carpet tile borders having a machinedirection; and carpet tile shapes having a machine direction positionedon the floor within the borders so that the machine direction of eachcarpet tile shape differs from the machine direction of the borderwithin which it is positioned.